


Escape

by honestlydarkprincess



Category: Captain America (Movies), Political Animals
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Blood, Bruises, Dark, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Hydra (Marvel), Kidnapping, Murder, Pain, TJ in Pain, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-28
Updated: 2016-11-30
Packaged: 2018-09-03 10:35:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8709028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestlydarkprincess/pseuds/honestlydarkprincess
Summary: They kidnapped him thinking he was the escaped Asset. They didn't listen as he begged for it to stop.





	1. Kidnapped

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BuckyBuchananBarnes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BuckyBuchananBarnes/gifts).



> Hey everyone! 
> 
> So this fic is for my good friend Adam! It was actually supposed to be a birthday gift but I'm hella late with it xD 
> 
> Warnings: Contains torture, kidnapping, murder, and TJ in much pain. 
> 
> I know nothing about Political Animals, so this is really just a stab in the dark. 
> 
> I repeat: this story does not follow canon seeing as I have no idea what the canon is. 
> 
> Happy Birthday! ♡ ♡
> 
> Enjoy!

How had this happened?

How had he gotten himself into this situation, _again_. 

No, wait, this one wasn’t his fault. All he had been doing was walking down the street. Sure, the three men in suits that were giving off a dangerous vibe had been following him for three blocks, but that happened all the time. Seeing as the first three times it had turned out to be security hired by his mother to make sure he didn’t go buy drugs, he didn’t think much of it. 

But when one of the men blitzed him and put a bag over his head, he thought to himself that maybe he should have called his mother just to check. That was the last thought he had before a blinding pain hit his head and he blacked out. 

When he came to, the first thing he noticed was the scent in the air.

Stale blood, urine, and somehow, tears. 

“Ah, fuck.” He mumbled. This wasn’t going to turn out well; he just hoped that he managed to make it out of this one alive. He’d had his fair share of kidnappings, he didn’t know why people seemed to think that he was the kid to kidnap if they wanted to get a reaction out of his mother. Sure, she had gotten secret service to retrieve him, but it had been a cold reunion, and it hadn’t brought about the frantic desperation the kidnappers wanted. 

“He’s awake.” A heavily accented voice spoke. The voice did nothing to assure TJ that this was not going to end in bruises and him bleeding.

TJ blinked opened his eyes and squinted against the harsh light that assaulted his eyes. 

"Wakey wakey, sleeping beauty," A cruel voice mocked. TJ couldn’t make out his face but from his voice, he knew it was a different man from the one who said he was awake. 

"What do you want with me?" TJ croaked, still trying to shake off his lingering headache from being hit so hard in the head. 

"How did you escape?" The first man asked, harshly.

"Well, I mean…I just walked out the front door. That’s generally how most people "escape" their house," TJ replied. He knew it was a bad idea to answer this guy sarcastically but he couldn’t help it. What did he mean how did you escape? TJ doesn’t try to escape anymore. Well, unless you count him getting trying to 'escape' his mom for the day. 

Turns out he was right, being sarcastic _was_ a bad idea. The man with the cruel voice slapped him harshly, the sound echoing in the dingy room. 

"Okay, first, OUCH. Second, what are you talking about? Can’t we just have this conversation like mature adults? Do I really need to be tied to a chair?" TJ asked, rolling his shoulders. They ached from being tied behind his back for who knows how long. 

"NO! You will tell us how you escaped, and you will tell us NOW!" A third man shouted from behind TJ, who flinched. He hadn’t realized there was someone behind him. 

"You need to work on your diplomacy skills," TJ mumbled, shouting in surprise and pain when the man behind him gripped his hair and forced his head back. 

"What did you say to me?!" He exclaimed, getting right up in TJ’s face. It was an awkward angle since TJ’s head was forced back and he was looking at the guy upside down. 

"Shit, man, get a breath mint," TJ said, "If you know you’re going to be capturing and torturing someone, please, at least chew some gum. Basic kidnapping etiquette. It’s really not that hard." 

"Shut up, Asset," The first man snarled, "Tell us how you escaped." 

"You do realize that I can’t talk and shut up at the same time, right?" TJ mocked, sobering up when he felt the cool metal of a knife against his throat. 

"Not so cocky now, are ya?" The second man sneered. They all laughed and the man with the knife pressed it harder against his throat. 

TJ swallowed a pained whimper as he felt the blade start to slice into his flesh and blood slowly trickling down the length of his throat; he didn’t want to give them the satisfaction. 

"Now, I’m going to ask you again, and this time, you better fucking answer me," The second man, who now stood directly in front of him, threatened, "How. Did. You. Escape?" 

"I don’t know what you’re talking about!" TJ croaked, neck straining from being held back. The knife pressed harder and the blood started to trickle faster. 

"HOW DID YOU ESCAPE?!" The same man roared, punching TJ in the stomach, hard, again. TJ lurched forward, and since the man hadn’t let go of his hair or the knife, his movement caused the knife to press even deeper than before. Blood was now flowing in a steady rivulet and TJ moaned in pain. 

"Let go of his hair," The first man demanded, and TJ let out a relieved sigh when, both the hand gripping his hair and the knife, left. 

However, he only had a second of relief because as soon as the man behind him let go of him, the first man punched him in the face. 

Grunting in pain, TJ spit out blood and gasped, "I don’t know who you are and I don’t know what you’re talking about!"

None of the men were convinced; in fact, the more TJ talked, the angrier they got. 

The man with the knife slashed him across the forehead, leaving a deep cut. Blood flowed down and into his eyes, making it hard to see. 

"TELL US!" The second man screamed, punching him yet again in the stomach. 

TJ folded forward, as far as he could with his arms tied behind his back, in an effort to protect his stomach from more blows. 

"Stop," He cried, "I don’t know what you’re talking about!" 

"YES YOU DO! TELL US HOW YOU FUCKING ESCAPED!" The man with the knife bellowed.  
"I DON’T KNOW, OKAY?!" TJ yelled back, only to scream in pain when the man brought the knife down and stabbed him in the thigh. He ripped the knife out and laughed as blood soaked through TJ’s pants. 

He let out another gut wrenching scream when the second man pressed down on the stab wound, growling, "Tell. Us."

"I don’t know. I swear I don’t know. Please stop," TJ sobbed, tears now mixing in with the blood running down his face. 

"If he’s not going to give us anything, we’re going to have to take him to someone who’ll get him to talk," The first man said to the others, looking at TJ’s broken and bloody form. 

The other two gave nods of confirmation. The first man stayed while the others went to get the car ready. The room was silent except for the occasional pained whimper TJ let out. The man just stood there, watching disinterestedly at the young man in front of him, who, by now had blood covering the left side of his face and all down his throat. The vibrant red was prominent against the white shirt TJ was wearing. 

"You know," The man started, "All this could have been avoided if you would have just told us what we wanted to know. You made us do this. It didn’t have to go this way. Huh, Bucky?" The man’s face twisted into a mocking, cruel sneer at the mention of the nickname. 

"Who the hell is Bucky?"

"Tsk tsk, wrong answer, Asset," The man mocked. He moved until he was crouched in front of TJ’s broken form and whispered, "You have one more chance. How did you escape?" 

TJ forced his head up to look at the man, holding his eyes for a moment. Cold, cruel eyes stared back at him. 

So, TJ spat in his face. 

The man flinched back, closing his eyes. 

"Shouldn’t have done that," He growled, moving to stand up and do who knows what, but was interrupted by the other men entering the room once again. 

"Car’s ready."

"Fine. Let’s get him moving," He said, giving TJ a look that promised pain at a later time. 

That look was the last thing TJ saw for a while, the man who had stabbed him whacked him across the head so hard he blacked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked the first chapter! 
> 
> Lemme know what you think?


	2. Consequence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter! 
> 
> I hope you like it!

When TJ came to, he was in a moving truck. The bumpy road and the knife enthusiast’s shitty driving did nothing to help the painful pounding in his head. 

TJ let out a muffled groan, forcing his eyes open. From what he could discern, they’d shoved him in the back of the truck. His mouth was duck-taped and his hands were still tied behind his back. 

Well, this had certainly ruined bondage for him. 

The drive seemed to go on forever, even though it couldn’t have been more than a day. Without warning, the truck came to a harsh stop. The sudden movement caused TJ’s head to bang against the side of the truck and he let out a muted scream. His head hurt so much and his vision was blurry; not to mention the fact he was hungry and dehydrated. 

The hatch of the truck wrenched open and one of the men dragged him out of the back. Unfortunately for TJ, the man wasn’t gentle in the slightest, and a number of cuts and scrapes on his back were added to his list of injuries. Dried blood mixed with dried tears on his cheeks and down his throat; and he could still feel the stab wound on his thigh bleeding, although the blood flow seemed to have stemmed a bit.

"Let’s go," One of the men said. At this point, TJ couldn’t tell which. "Up you go, Soldier." 

They proceeded to drag TJ’s body none too gently up the stairs and into the house they’d arrived at. Once inside, they tied him to another chair mumbling about how he might escape. 

Yeah right. TJ could hardly even keep his eyes open and his head up, there was no way he’d be able to escape. These men seemed to seriously overestimate him. What, did they think he was some sort of super-soldier or something? 

"He’ll be here in 30 minutes." 

"Okay," The one who seemed to be in charge replied, "Shall we warm him up?" 

Warm him up? For what? 

TJ’s question was answered when he felt the first blow land against his jaw. His head snapped to the right and he groaned. The next came against the other side of his jaw; his neck snapped to the other side and TJ swore he heard a crack. The blows kept coming; and when TJ thought they might stop, the knife man punched him hard once again in the stomach before bringing out his knives. 

"Stop, please stop," TJ begged after he coughed up blood. The three men ignored him, laughing cruelly as the broken boy coughed and sobbed, begging for it to end. It never crossed their minds to look at just how different TJ was acting compared to the 'Asset'. The Asset never screamed. He never cried. He refused to let them hear his pain. 

The torture went on seemly forever, even though it was only half an hour. By the time they were finished, TJ was covered in blood, bruises, cuts, and tears. He had never screamed so much in his entire life.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?!" A fourth voice roared. TJ didn’t notice the three men in front of him turn towards the voice. His head was hanging low and his body was limp. Everything hurt; blood and sweat dripped down his face, soiling his already soiled shirt even further. 

"Pierce! The Asset escaped. We were trying to figure out how for you," TJ cringed at the simpering tone the ring leader used as he talked to who TJ assumed was Pierce. 

"You complete fools! This isn’t the Asset; he’s on a mission for me in D.C. And you would know that if you would accept my damn friend request on Facebook and then answered YOUR FUCKING MESSAGES!" Pierce yelled, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. The men who had been torturing TJ now looked confused and embarrassed. 

They had been so sure that this was the Asset. There was only one other person who looked like Bucky Barnes and if the Asset was in D.C…that means that this was…oh, this was not going to end well for them. 

Pierce took a few deep breaths and turned towards TJ. Since his head was down and covered in blood, Pierce hadn’t gotten a good look at him. He walked over to him and grasped his hair, wrenching his head up. 

TJ whimpered as his sore neck was violently forced upwards and looked into the shocked face of Pierce. He blinked away the fresh blood as recognition washed over the older man’s face. His hair was let go, his head dropping back down limply, as rage took over Pierce’s demeanor. 

"Tell me this isn’t who I think it is," Pierced growled out, looking between the three men for an answer.

"Well, boss, you see…." One of them started but didn’t get to finish as Pierce cut him off. 

"DO YOU KNOW WHO THIS IS?! DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU’VE DONE?" Pierce screamed, "YOU KIDNAPPED AND TORTURED THE FUCKING PRESIDENT’S SON!" 

The three men cowed in front of their furious boss, hanging their heads. No way they were getting out of this alive. 

Pierce closed his eyes for a minute, and when he opened them, he spoke in a calm, deadly voice, "You realize what this means for you three right?" 

The three didn’t even have a chance to think, no less answer, because suddenly, Pierce pulled out a gun and shot each of them in the head. Quick, clean, practiced shots. 

TJ watched, terrified, as the three men went down and it was just him and Pierce left. 

As Pierce approached him, TJ tried to make a sound but his throat was too raw from screaming. He closed his eyes and waited for the pain that would no doubt come. Given how quickly Pierce had disposed of them, TJ guessed they weren’t very high-ranking in whatever organization they were a part of. But if they had been able to put TJ through so much pain, what would a high-ranking boss be able to do? 

TJ was expecting to be hit, kicked, or stabbed again. Maybe he’d be shot just like those other men. 

He wasn’t, however, expecting a tiny prick in his arm and the feeling of something being injected. He opened his eyes and watched as Pierce emptied the contents of a syringe into his arm. 

When he was finished, Pierce took a step back and watched, silently, as TJ’s eyes started to droop; and soon, he was unconscious. 

Giving the boy one last look, Pierce turned away and pulled out his phone. 

Looks like he had some damage control to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One chapter left xD 
> 
> All comments, kudos, and bookmarks are very much appreciated!!!


	3. Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter!! 
> 
> I had some trouble thinking of how I wanted this fic to end, so I hope it turned out okay!

For the third time, TJ woke up dazed and disoriented. The scent of grass filled his nose and he slowly became aware that that was what he was laying on. 

He groaned and opened his eyes, and flinched back in surprise. 

Right in front of him was the dead body of the man who had stabbed him. TJ remembered now; the man named Pierce had shot him and the two others. 

TJ grimaced as he looked into the milky, unseeing eyes of the dead body in front of him. He felt bile rise in his throat from the scent of decomposition. 

He was just about to try and sit up when the sounds of shouts and screams registered in his ears. All of a sudden, there were many people around him. They were all talking but TJ didn’t hear a word. He couldn’t look away from the body in front of him. He couldn’t look away from the eyes of the man who had only laughed when he had cried and begged for the torture to stop.

"TJ! TJ are you okay? Can you hear me?!" The voice of his mothers’ concerned voice filled his ears. Her words sank in and TJ was surprised at the amount of concern in her voice. It was nice to hear, even though it sucks he had to be tortured to hear it. 

"Mom?" He whispered. He couldn’t talk louder than that, there was a sharp ache in his throat; he hadn’t had any water in days and his throat felt raw from so much screaming. 

"I’m here, baby," Elaine whispered back, caressing his hair with a gentleness she hadn’t shown him in years. 

"It hurts," TJ croaked.

"I know, sweetie, I know," Elaine replied. She was crying softly seeing her child like this. No matter what went on between them, she’d always love her son and to see him so broken…it broke something in her. 

"Ma’am we need to take him now," One of the EMT’s said, and Elaine noticed the wailing of an ambulance getting closer. 

"Okay," Elaine said, wiping her tears, "I’ll come with you." 

"Okay, ma'am."

"Alright people, be careful with his neck. Well, be careful with all of him. He’s got multiple stab wounds, open wounds, and broken bones," The EMT who was in charge said, barking orders at his team. 

Elaine stepped away and watched as the EMT’s carefully took away her broken son. While they were loading him into the ambulance, she turned around to survey the scene that had been left for them. 

Three dead bodies had surrounded her son when they’d found him; artfully arranged. TJ was covered in blood and wasn’t conscious, but they’d found a pulse and Elaine had never felt more relief than at that moment. She’d fallen to her knees beside her son, uncaring of the blood that stained her. 

"Madame President, we have to go!" The EMT she had spoken to called out to her. 

Giving the scene one more glance, she turned and climbed into the ambulance. She sat beside where TJ was lying and took his hand into hers. Her breath caught when she noticed the severe rope burns around his wrists. They must have had him tied up, tightly, for days. 

She pressed her lips to his hands, thanking whoever was out there that he had been brought back to her. She knew that eventually, he’d make a physical recovery; she just didn’t know how he would cope with the trauma of what happened. How does one even come back from this? Why had they done this to her child? Why him? 

Those thoughts never left her. 

Not when they got to the hospital. 

Not when he was in surgery.

Not when he was in stable condition and expected to make a full recovery, at least physically. 

Especially not when he woke up screaming the first time he regained consciousness. Or the second. Or third. 

They couldn’t. 

She’d never get the image her his broken body bleeding out on the grass out of her mind; just as she knew he’d never get the images of what those men did to him out _his_ mind. 

Things would never be the same. 

_TJ_ would never be the same. 

 

oOoOoOoOoOo

 

He watched the ambulance leave with the boy and the President. He’d barely had enough time to place the boy and the bodies before people had started rushing out. Thankfully, he’d had enough time to dart into the shadows and then, with all the chaos going on, no one noticed him slip out and into the crowd; smoothly taking back his place as a member of the Secret Service protection detail.

He effortlessly faked shock and concern when his colleagues started gossiping about what happened. 

Oh, the boss’ son was kidnapped and tortured? Oh dear, poor kid; I’ll hope he’ll be okay. 

So far, no one seemed to suspect Hydra. And if they did, well, that’s what he was here for. 

To take care of the problem, should one arise. 

He still couldn’t believe those idiots had actually kidnapped and tortured the President’s son believing him to be the Asset. He had never met the Asset himself, but he’d heard stories. And no way would those three been able to capture him, let alone get information out of him. 

He looked down at the lifeless, bloated faces of his former colleagues-by-association with disdain. They’d deserved what they’d gotten. They had put their organization in danger and that just wouldn’t do. 

Oh well, it had been taken care of. 

He walked away with a spring in his step on his way to call Pierce to tell him the job was done. He was definitely going to be compensated heavily for this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who read this fic!
> 
> Beeb, I hope you liked it!! 
> 
> I'd to hear what you guys think of the overall story! I'm new to torture fics so I'm not sure if I did this fic justice. I'm also very very new to Political Animals. I've actually never seen the show. 
> 
> All feedback is appreciated and loved xD


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